Embarking on a new diet plan can be a roller coaster ride on a nasty, unforgiving track. You start by riding the high to peak weight loss numbers, coasting through weigh in after weigh in wearing nothing but a bra, undies, and a smile. Then the plateau hits: the dreaded halt in even the slightest weight loss. You still bear all in the bra and undies, but now the smile is a frustrated frown. In an attempt to break through this slump you turn up the intensity during work outs, and cut out that extra square of dark chocolate you were secretly indulging on (in moderation of course). Still the scale is persistently delivering the same results right down the the tenth of a pound. This isn't the point of failure, oh no, definitely not. This however, is exactly when all efforts start to head south.
Your tired of it! Working you buns off in the gym, moping around the office starving because you have cut yet another chunk of calories from your day. Finally, you snap. At lunch you order the burger instead of the salad; at dinner you decide to call for delivery, since you miss your beloved pizza oh so badly; and to top it off, you surrender to the triple chocolate fudge mousse brownie ice cream you stashed way in the back of the freezer for desperate measures. Yup, I know exactly where you are.
As a Division I athlete I thought, "Meh, I can eat anything because I work out hard and often." It didn't take long for me to realize how ridiculously untrue that was. Sure, most people couldn't really tell I had put on ten pounds from the previous year. To me, other people didn't matter; I mattered and I could see it bulging everywhere. My ball pants got so tight that I could only snap the first of the two buttons for them to be somewhat comfortable in order to perform in a two-and-a-half hour practice.
I made great strides in the spring of my senior year, dropping fifteen pounds by eating "healthier" foods and applying moderation. I felt great and started looking even better. This inspired me to take up running, an exercise I never thought I would do considering running was associated with punishment in the world of an athlete. I was loving it and riding a high of confidence and self control. You could pull a pan of hot, warm, gooey brownies out of the oven and I would refuse to touch them. However, I was also riding that high of losing a pound to a pound-and-a-half every single week for the past fifteen weeks. Well, that ended.
After the initial stop in weight loss I figured I could re-tweak what I was eating to overcome this easily. That didn't happen; in fact, nothing happened. Out of frustration I decided that I was probably destined to spend my life at 147 pounds and just have to deal with it. My goal since day one had been to reach 140. Although I was, and still am, proud of my progress, the scale has never moved any lower than that 145 mark throughout the entire year.
I would never complain about weighing what I weigh. I am fine with it and appreciate my hard work and effort to get to where I am. At this point, unfortunately, I see myself caring less and less, and allowing myself to destroy a bag of Sun Chips or down a couple candy bars without the slightest bit of guilt. This is not the promise I made to myself to live a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy foods, whether I was losing weight or not. Something needs to change.
Today, after waiting nearly two weeks, I finally received my "A Week in the Zone" book. I had heard about The Zone diet and, to be honest, bought into it right away. The idea is feeding your body based on balancing your hormones. I like it. I like everything that it stands for and I like that fact that it appears to be simple. No, not just a little bit simple, really simple. I am excited to get started!
I plan to follow the weekly diet plan laid out in the book. So far, although only on page 23, I feel confident that I am learning great tools and facts to help me reach my goal weight while still adequately feeding my body what it needs. Throughout the week I will post fun facts from the book that provide substantial evidence that controlling your insulin levels is the key to optimal health. Enjoy!
Fun Fact For April 7: Keeping your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day results in your brain being constantly supplied with energy! No more afternoon crashes or mental haziness.
I recommend checking out this book A Week In The Zone.
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